Cleveland @ Minnesota preview
Target Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 20, 2010 ) Cleveland 1, Minnesota 5
David Huff and Francisco Liriano are both coming off breakthrough performances.
Huff hopes it’s the beginning of a long and prosperous career, while Liriano is looking for it to be proof that he is finally recovered from Tommy John surgery four years ago. The two will meet Wednesday when the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins meet in the second contest of a three-game set.
Liriano pitched seven shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox last week to earn his first victory of the season. He has struck out 11 in 13 innings and is beginning to show the form that made him the league’s most dominant rookie in 2006.
The left-handed Liriano posted a 12-3 mark with a 2.16 ERA before his season – and career – was set off course by ligament transplant surgery. He has been slow to discover his confidence and velocity since surgery, but said after shutting down the Red Sox that he hadn’t felt this good since before surgery.
That’s tremendous for Minnesota and potentially devastating news for the rest of the American League. The Twins are already one of the fastest teams in the American League to 10 wins. If their former ace returns to his most dominant - when he struck out 144 in 121 innings in 2006 - the Twins can compete with any team – including the beasts of the East.
Cleveland isn’t to that level yet, but could use Huff to show its farm system is making strides. The Indians have done a tremendous job of acquiring young talent from other teams – Grady Sizemore, Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo, for example – but have struggled to draft and develop their own.
Huff can be the exception. He was the 39th overall selection in 2006 and made his debut last season, winning a team-high 11 games despite lugging a 5.61 ERA. Huff had to battle to win a rotation spot this spring, but has pitched well in his first two starts.
He pitched his first complete game in a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers last week that marked the most commanding performance of his young career. The only mistake he made was a two-run homer to Michael Young, but otherwise silenced one of the most potent lineups in the league.
Cleveland’s rotation has been surprisingly good through the first few weeks. The Indians entered Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to the Twins fourth in the league in starters’ ERA, behind the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas.
Indians starters worked at least six innings in six straight games, a streak that ended Tuesday when Justin Masterson was knocked out after four. Still, Cleveland starters have reached the seventh in eight of 13 starts this season.
The Indians and Twins are at different places in baseball this season, but both could use strong performances out of their young left-handers. For both, the future finally looks bright again.